By KARI MUTU

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Renowned collage artist and sculptor Rosemary Karuga, who passed away on February 9 aged 93 years, was one of the pioneers of contemporary East African artists.

As a child, she would draw on the walls of the house, much to the horror of her parents. There were no art schools in Kenya when she was young so she trained as a teacher instead. In 1950, an opportunity arose at Uganda’s Makerere University and she became the first female student at the Fine Arts School, where she studied design, sculpture, and painting.

She dared to pursue her passion at a time when fine art was hardly a viable profession for Africans. Memorable among her works are the collages she made from coloured cuttings of discarded magazine, newspapers and packaging paper.

She used recycled materials because art resources were either unavailable or unaffordable for local artists. Despite the inexpensive supplies, she was able to incorporate amazing detail in her creations such as skin tone and the finer elements of nature. From a distance her collages look like they have been painted.

Her realistic and semi-abstract works were usually figurative and representational, showing market places, traditional life, biblical stories, nature and everyday scenes in Africa. Alan Donovan, art connoisseur and founder of the African Heritage Gallery, was impressed by her vibrant and humorous collages and displayed some of Karuga’s works at his international exhibitions.

Karuga pursued her first love, persevering through the struggles of finding her niche and earning a viable living from her craft while serving as a full-time school teacher and raising a family. Her distinguished reputation in the arts only happened when she was in her 60s. Some of her work can be seen at the Nairobi National Museum and the Nairobi Gallery.

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This article was first published in The EastAfrican newspaper on February 20, 2021.